Catheters and tubes are used in any number of ways during medical procedures. Foley catheters are well known devices, placed into a person to drain urine from the bladder. The Foley catheter is inserted, usually through the urethra, and a balloon, usually a silicone balloon, on the distal end is then inflated in order to secure the catheter within the bladder. Retention can be a problem, especially when the catheter is meant for placement for a longer period of time, such as several days. For instance, movement of the person can result in leakage of the saline or other solution used to inflate the balloon. The catheter may then be held only loosely, resulting in leakage, or the catheter could even escape its installation.
Feeding tubes, such as those resembling a Foley catheter or a Malecot catheter, are used in infants or other persons who are unable to suck or swallow food in a normal manner. In these instances, a surgeon makes an opening in the baby's or person's stomach, and a Malecot catheter or a Foley catheter may be placed into the opening, or even sutured into the opening. It is clearly very important that the feeding tube or catheter be securely placed in the opening.
There are many other applications for catheters and tubes, many of them placed percutaneously and requiring secure placement for at least several hours or days of time. One such demanding application for catheters or stents is their use in nephrostomy procedures. In these procedures, a physician will typically provide an opening into the kidney, for drainage or as part of a procedure for removing calculi. Malecot-type catheters are typically used, and it is critical for the patient's health and safety during the procedure that the catheter not be dislodged.
In virtually all applications, the device needs to be retained in the body of the patient to complete the procedure, or for a time period afterwards, such as for drainage of urine after a urinary procedure. In percutaneous procedures, the danger of infection and even sepsis requires complete control over the tube, whether it be a catheter, a stent or merely a tube. What is needed are better ways to retain such devices within the body, to allow physicians to complete a procedure, for the safety and well-being of the patient, or for convenience afterward.